Honor and Duty
by Batbabe1
Summary: A couple of weeks after Hush, someone surprises Batman on a rooftop....


Disclaimer: I don't own Batman, DC does. The bastards......  
  
A/N: This is set a couple of weeks after "Hush." Please R/R!  
  
Honor and Duty  
By: Batbabe  
  
Gotham was most beautiful at night, but it was also a battlefield.  
Each night, under the envelopment of darkness, a war raged. Criminals  
sought to destroy the lives of the good by taking what wasn't theirs. A  
dedicated few were all that stood in the way of that happening.  
  
But you couldn't see that from where Batman was perched. All he could  
see was the sharp angles of the skyscrapers, the thick mound of smog that  
hung atop the city, and the sparkling lights in all different colors.  
From where the Dark Knight gazed, the city seemed peaceful. But he knew  
more then anyone that looks can be deceiving.  
  
Batman's lips pursed together as he thought how he should continue his  
patrol soon. Every night he patrolled the city. Every night he would  
stop at this very same spot and stare at the little points of light below  
him.  
  
He was getting tired.  
  
Not physically, but mentally. He'd been Gotham's dark knight for so  
many years, and he had lost so much and hurt so much.  
  
Jason. Barbara. Dick. Cassie. Harold. Vesper.  
  
Selina....  
  
All of them had either been hurt, or worse, because of their  
connection to them. Barbara had been paralyzed by the Joker because her  
father was a good friend and ally to the Batman. Dick had been shot,  
almost fatally, because he was Robin, the boy wonder. Cassie died at the  
hands of Shiva, then was brought back to life after making a deal because  
she felt that she couldn't live up to the standards that her mentor had  
set. Vesper was killed in order to send Bruce Wayne to prison. Harold  
had been killed after being seduced into betraying Batman's secret. And  
Jason was brutally murdered by the Joker while he was only a child.  
  
And then there was Selina. He had told the former thief his secret,  
almost shared everything with her, only to push her away because he  
couldn't trust his own feelings. Though he would never admit it, he  
deeply regretted hurting her like that. When he closed his eyes, he  
could still see the look on her face as she turned away from him.  
  
He sighed softly as he stood up, preparing to leap off to the rooftop  
below.  
  
"No need to leave on my account...."came a soft voice from behind him.  
  
He turned, knowing who he'd see behind him and not letting on that she  
had surprised him by being there. He just looked at her, staring  
silently. Most people would have been frightened, or at least unsettled,  
by that stare, but she just looked right back at him. This was yet  
another time that he was glad that his eyes were hidden by the lenses in  
his cowl.  
  
"You could at least say hello." she finally broke the silence, looking  
slightly annoyed.  
"Hello, Selina." he replied quietly.  
  
She looked slightly surprised that he actually did what she said. But  
she recovered quickly.  
  
"Come here often?" she purred. Boy, did he love that cat-like grin.  
  
His eyes narrowed slightly as he replied, "Every night." The wind  
swirled his cape behind him, seeming to accent the mixed feelings on the  
rooftop.  
  
Silence rained again as he looked in her eyes, visible through her  
colored goggles. He could still see her hurt and anger swirling in those  
emerald green spheres. She still carried herself as proudly as ever,  
along with the grace that she had always possessed. She was, perhaps,  
the most beautiful woman he had ever known. And it killed him to know  
that they could never be together. They were too different, and he could  
never be sure of his feelings for her. He hated doubting himself.  
  
"Why?" she murmured, just loud enough for him to hear.  
  
"It's on my patrol." he said simply, not wishing to go into it.  
  
"That's not what I meant and you damn well know it." she hissed  
slightly. "Why are you doing this to yourself? Are you that much of a  
glutton for punishment?" She stepped closer, venting some of the anger  
that had festered for weeks. He stayed where he was, unmoving, like a  
statue. He could smell the fresh vanilla scent of her, and he breathed  
deeply, taking in as much of her as he could.  
  
"Won't you at least admit that this is hard for you, Bruce? That  
there's a part of you that wants to be with me too?" She said, her face  
changing from anger to hurt. He had to turn then, he didn't want to see  
the pain that he was causing her anymore.  
  
She grabbed his arm and forced him to look at her.  
  
"I don't give a damn if it was Ivy's spell that forced us to admit  
what feel. It's about time we did. And for it to be really effective, a  
part of us had to already want to share ourselves with each other.  
Doesn't that mean something to you??"  
  
His lips parted somewhat at her speech. What she said had been true,  
he had thought occasionally about sharing his life with her, but had  
never really considered it until Selina had switched sides. She did so  
on her own, he didn't have to force her. That made him respect her even  
more.  
  
What was done, was done. He couldn't change the fact that she knew  
who he was, knew about the cave, about Jason and his parents. He could  
change the future....but did he have the courage to?  
Taking his silence as his answer, her face dropped, hope drained. Her  
hand slipped from his arm and she looked down at her feet for a moment  
before saying, "Well, if that's how it's going to be then, fine." She  
looked back up, into his eyes, "Just remember that I tried to get you to  
see the truth, but you still wouldn't."  
  
She was quiet as she turned around, walked to the edge of the roof,  
and leaped off. He watched her swing away, never taking his eyes off her  
until she could no longer be seen.  
  
He didn't realize that his hand had reached out to her until long  
after she had disappeared into the night. 


End file.
